Hide 'N Seek
by Legna the Sorcerer
Summary: Grand Chase play a small game of Hide 'N Seek. . . and Arme's It! Implied pairings


**Author's Note: **Just a small piece of writing.

--

Sure, it was a children's game, but it was fun when you had to subdue those in hiding. This time, I was "it" and thus, the others would be trying their best to hide from me.

The others would have no weapons, just their stealth and speed. Meanwhile, I had magic in my arsenal. This would be easy.

". . . Eight. . . Nine. . . Ten," I counted. I looked up, and heard nothing but the wind, saw nothing but the trees, the leaves, grass, and other plant-life. They had hidden themselves well, and I would find them before the sun disappeared from the horizon.

We were playing this to practice. Practice hiding, remaining undetected from the enemy, and to run if necessary. I was the hunter, they were the prey.

A grin spread across my face. They called me a tad sadistic, but I didn't like to actually harm my teammates for fun. It was an accident, though they didn't think so. Sometimes I attacked, but only when they tick me off.

The wind whistled through the trees. It seemed I wouldn't be able to hear them.

Looking around, I searched for traces. Traces of what? Anything. A broken branch, an overturned stone, a slight impression in the soft dirt. Then I noticed a faint footprint. It seemed light, so I was thinking it was two people; Lire or Lass. Both would be hard to catch, as they could easily outrun me. In fact, they all could, but Lire and Lass could easily leap out of my reach.

I ran forward; sometimes someone lagged behind, and weren't that far. I was hoping for that. Then I stopped. With all this noise I was making, one was sure to hear me. Lire and Ryan had excellent hearing. I believe their elven ears attribute to that.

Taking quieter steps, I drew my staff, ready to stun if needed. There was no way I could teleport; if I did, I might cause some unneeded noise that would alert those nearby. What to do, what to do.

Then I saw something. It was only for a second, but I saw it. A small bit of movement, opposite of the blowing leaves of the bush. My first victim, though I couldn't see who it was. But, I had an idea.

Creeping forward, I slowly made my way around the bush. I would trap them.

Noiselessly, I picked up a stone, about as large as my palm, and tossed it above, and over. It clattered noisily on the other side of the bush. Startled, the one in hiding ran opposite the noise, right towards me.

Immediately, I ran forward, shield up, to prevent injury to myself, and collided with them. I saw a tangle of yellow that fell over backwards, surprised. I stepped on her back.

"Gotcha, Lire," I said.

Still looking startled, Lire made no sound, though her mouth was open.

"You're out," I added.

"Aw, crap," Lire said.

I motioned for her to leave, and she left. We knew too well what would happen if one found didn't leave; they would be attacked. Cruel, but hey, rules were rules.

I set out for my next target.

This time, I noticed some odd marks on the bark of a tree. It looked as if someone tried to climb up it.

Looking up, I saw nothing, but they could've moved. Very likely, so I stayed on the ground. If I was unlucky enough, I would fall.

As I turned around, I noticed the sun. It was only a third of the way hidden, but that was no good; I was losing time.

This time, I ran, though I tried to be silent. I was guessing this to be Ryan or Lass. They were both agile in the trees. Lire was too, but I got her already.

I reached a crossroads. To my left, a trail that led to a cave. To my right, a lake. Ahead of me, more trees. I went left.

The cave seemed small, though I heard some soft echoes. It sounded like water dripping. I entered.

My footsteps echoed noisily in the cave, but I felt there was no other way out of here, so they were trapped. If someone was here, that is. The cave smelled damp, and there seemed to be a slight glow on the walls. A glowing fungus? I tried not to touch the walls with my hands.

Was it me, or did I hear breathing? I tapped my staff on the wall. It made a loud clank. There was a small gasp. Quickening my pace, I closed in.

There was no one. This cave actually led to water. Dammit, I was so close! Did they swim out? Well, this told me that Elesis, at the least, wasn't here. She couldn't swim.

I held my breath and dived in.

The water stung my eyes, but I kept them open. Light filtered through the surface, dancing before my eyes. It looked nice, but I had to get out or I could drown. Then I saw the ripples.

Quickly, I swam up and broke the surface, taking in deep breaths, and I saw them. They were coughing, lying on the ground.

Did he choke?

Before he could escape me twice, I swam over, climbed out, and grabbed their wrist.

"You okay, Ronan?" I asked.

He coughed a bit before answering weakly, "Yeah. . . Accidentally swallowed some water." Then his expression changed to shock. "Oh. . . Arme?"

I nodded, and smiled.

"Great," he groaned. "Elesis won't let me forget about this for awhile." Ronan chuckled weakly.

"Get outta here," I said lightly, and helped him up. "What compelled you to go swimming?"

"Well, I heard someone, so I had to run, in case it was you. Then I found water, and thought, 'Oh great' and dived in." Ronan smiled. "I told Elesis I would take the cave. Good thing, too."

I nodded, then shoved him into the trees. "Get outta here, I gotta get moving." Ronan nodded, and left.

Two down.

So, if Elesis was with Ronan before the cave, then she had to have taken the path that led towards the trees. No way would she risk drowning.

I ran as fast as I could, panting. I needed some stamina training, and I knew Elesis could outrun me, so as to keep ahead of me, forever. Maybe I would save her for last.

Or not.

I saw a flash of red in the bushes. Great.

Changing direction, I ran after Elesis. Something seemed off though, but I wasn't sure what.

Thinking for a moment, I decided I would outwit her, instead of outrunning her.

Guessing where she would run, I changed course. It looked like Elesis was heading towards the lake, though I doubted that she was going to risk swimming. Plus, she would have to climb over a wall of boulders that someone had placed there. I think those boulders would be used for a defensive wall or something.

Finally, I got to where I wanted. Crouching low to the ground, I laid in wait. Soon, I heard the pounding footsteps of someone running. I counted. One, two, three, four. . .!

I leaped out, and put up a barrier of ice.

"Woah!" they both cried. Wait. . . "Both"?

Peeking out, I saw a tangle of red.

"Get off me!" one shouted.

"Your foot's stuck!" the other shouted.

"Hello," I said, walking out cooly.

They froze and looked up at me. I grabbed both Elesis and Jin by their hair. Two birds with one stone.

"Why are you two together?" I asked.

"We weren't!" Elesis yelled. "Just before you stuck that wall of ice up, Jin came out of nowhere and ran into me!"

"It's not my fault you were heading to the lake too!" Jin complained. "You can't swim!"

"So?! I could've used that to confuse Arme!"

I dropped the two nimrods. "Get going you two. Jin, Amy's probably waiting for you, her training should be done by now." He nodded. Turning to Elesis, I said, "I found Ronan, he nearly drowned himself."

"What?!" Elesis cried, and ran off. I didn't bother chasing her, as I had already caught her. Jin ran after.

Finally, two left; Ryan and Lass.

Ryan was actually quite easy to find. He was trying to hide as a normal wolf, but his distinct orange coloration gave him away. He tried to run, but his transformation ended abruptly, and he tripped over his own two feet.

Lass, however, was another matter.

Lass was a master of the shadows. He could hide within them, and use them to his advantage. Very easily he could get behind someone and place a dagger to their neck, or he could slit their throat before they even realized someone was behind them. Lass was as silent as the void, and so easily hidden, like a leaf among leaves. How would I find him?

I glanced over at the sun. Not good. It was almost gone, just a sliver visible of the orb of fire left.

I started to panic, but took deep breaths to calm myself. If I panicked, I couldn't think straight. If I couldn't think straight, I would lose my bet and would have to give up magic for a week at the castle. My main job at the castle was to research many new types of spells, and without magic, I wouldn't be able to test any of them.

"Panicking now, Arme? I was asked. Did my panic really show that much?

Looking around frantically, I yelled, "Lass?!" Where was he? It sounded as if he was everywhere at once.

"Yep. Give up?" he asked.

"Never!" I answered. He had to be around somewhere. . .

I struck my staff against a rock. Electricity surrounded me, but nothing happened otherwise.

"Trying to hit me?" Lass taunted. I growled. Would I have to go to desperate measures?

Running over to a tree, I clambered up it.

"You won't find me either way, Arme. You'll lose." I wanted to shut Lass up. Yeah, I loved him, but he was pissing me off.

"Says you!" I yelled, and leaped back down. Okay, that was it. Raising my staff up, I cried, "Just try and dodged this!" and summoned numerous meteors. No one could see this, unless they were in the area itself, and there was only one area that would avoid being hit.

Lass would get hit, he would appear out of his hiding place, and I would win.

A flash of silvery white, blue, and I was on my back, on the ground, looking up into blue eyes.

I gasped.

The meteors exploded, but left no damage. Lass had avoided being hit.

"Gotcha," Lass said, smiling. He kept my arms pinned to the ground, and sat on my stomach.

"G-Get off!" I cried.

Lass chuckled. "You lose, Arme. Look." He looked to the west. My gaze followed. It was still light, but the sun was nowhere in sight. I lost.

With a sigh, I said, "Okay, I lost. . . Just get off. . ." Lass got off and sat down next to me.

"Hey, just a game," he said. "It's just for fun, Arme."

I sighed again. "Unless you make a bet with someone."

"Oh?"

"Lire bet that if I lost, then I would give up magic for a week."

"Oh." That was it? Didn't Lass understand how important it was for me to use magic?

I looked up at him in anger, only to see he was gone. I sighed, and walked back to where the others would be, in defeat.

It was a bit of a surprise when I got back.

"Nice game, Arme," Ryan said.

"It was close, but you won!" Lire cried cheerfully. Huh?

"It was a good game, though if Jin hadn't ran into me, you would've lost." Elesis said, with a glare at Jin.

"Hey, I sa-" Jin began, before Ronan cut in. "Can't believe you found Lass, and got him at the end."

I looked over at Lass, confused, but he just smiled and gave a small wink and said, "She managed to outwit me." He had lied to them, didn't he?

Before I could say anything, Ryan said, "Let's go back before we get ambushed!" and ran back to the castle.

Of course, I was behind them all, but Lass kept pace with me.

"Lass, why did you. . . lie?" I asked.

He answered, "Magic's important to you. I know, Arme," and smiled. I smiled back shyly.

"But. . ." Lass said. "You owe me." He smiled again, but it was different. It was more of a cocky smile. Or more like an I-have-you-now smile.

Well, that was fine. After all, I didn't have to stop using my magic anytime soon, and I got Lass at my side. This was a great game.


End file.
